Beginner FILTERS

jpgreenwood

jpgreenwood

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jason
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As a beginner with a Nikon D3200 and a selection of lenses, I feel I need some filters to take my photography to the next level. I have a set of el-cheapo ND 2, 4, 8 off fleabay which seem to do the trick. However, I would like a circular polarizing filter an ND Grad and maybe an ND10 (Big Stopper). I don't want to spend ridiculous amounts so maybe £20 on each. (is this too much for a beginner?)
I found the ND8 good when trying to blur waterfalls etc but on a real sunny day, it was just showing "too bright" and wouldn't let me take the shot.
Im not sure where to start and have seen some Hoya and Tiffen filters in my price range but need advice as to any other options.
Can you stack the circular C-PL and a ND10?? Some of the descriptions don't make it clear if they are threaded both sides.
 
I've got both but never stacked a 10 stopper filter and a polariser
 
Can I ask why? I understand you wouldn't stack a ND Grad and a CPL due to them being both functionally rotational lenses.
 
More likely because the cpl generally adds a further 2 stops on top of the 10 stopper so may be more than you need. Also, it's difficult to see the effect of the cpl through the 10 stopper to know when the best effect has been reached.
 
Can I ask what settings you were using, f stop and iso and were you on manual settings or one of the camera controlled programs
 
Sounds like you were shooting on auto with the "too bright" warning. If you use any of the 'advanced' options (aperture/shutter/manual) the camera would still take the shot even if massively overexposed.
 
For a 10 stopper buy a welders mask replacement glass that's 100mm square and use rubber bands to hold it over the lens

It's about £3 on the bay of e
 
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For an ND grad it's likely to be a rectangular filter that will needs it's own holder so you can align point of change with the sky line. There are two types of ND grads, soft and hard, this is referring to the rate of transition of the filter area.

Using solid ND filters, especially 10 stop filters, means you need to take a meter reading of the exposure values without the filter then change to manual mode, dial in these settings but make an alternation to the shutter speed to take account of the filter.
 
I was using a 35mm f1.8 prime lens. Cant remember the exact settings but it was obviously on shutter priority to blur the waterfall. I was trying for a 3 second shutter but it was way too bright. Even with 100 ISO and the ND8 fitted. I think I had some negative exposure compensation dialled in too. (-5.0). I am new to all of this so i'm probably talking complete b*****ks and getting mixed up with one of my other photos that day. Anyway, back to the original question. What filters should I buy?
 
jpgreenwood said:
I was using a 35mm f1.8 prime lens. Cant remember the exact settings but it was obviously on shutter priority to blur the waterfall. I was trying for a 3 second shutter but it was way too bright. Even with 100 ISO and the ND8 fitted. I think I had some negative exposure compensation dialled in too. (-5.0). I am new to all of this so i'm probably talking complete b*****ks and getting mixed up with one of my other photos that day. Anyway, back to the original question. What filters should I buy?
Click to expand...

Go and buy a 10 stop nd filter,not graduated.
Reading your post i suspect that you had the lens wide open at f1.8 and you were trying to get a slow shutter speed.
What you need to do in order to get soft water is get a long shutter speed by reducing the amount of light hitti g the sensor,so ISO as low as it will go, camera on manual or aperture priority,set the aperture to f11 to f16, stick the filter on and see what shutter speed you get,and take photo,have a look and adjust the aperture accordingly untill you get the effect you want.
Alternatively if your camera has live view put it in manual,aperture as above and adjust the shutter speed until you see the effect you want
 
jpgreenwood said:
I was using a 35mm f1.8 prime lens. Cant remember the exact settings but it was obviously on shutter priority to blur the waterfall. I was trying for a 3 second shutter but it was way too bright. Even with 100 ISO and the ND8 fitted. I think I had some negative exposure compensation dialled in too. (-5.0). I am new to all of this so i'm probably talking complete b*****ks and getting mixed up with one of my other photos that day. Anyway, back to the original question. What filters should I buy?
Click to expand...
Say the exposure without a filter was 1/100, f11, ISO (sunny 16 for hazy sunny day). If you were using your 3 stop ND8 filter it would have meant a change of say 1/100 without filter to 1/13 as the ND filter alters the shutter speed by 3 stops. A 10 filter (ND1024) would have given you 10 secs if it was 1/100 sec without the filter. The camera should be able to meter with a ND3 but with a ND1024 (10 stops) it won't be able to.

The easiest way to use filters would be to check the current exposure by taking a picture in aperture priority with ISO 100 and f11. Check what shutter speed the camera selected. Add the filter then change to manual mode, set to f11 and ISO 100. Calculate the shutter speech by adding the number of stops to the unfiltered image. Then take the photo with the filter and adjusted settings.

There is no need to add any exposure compensation. Set up composition first and use a tripod to give a good stable support.

I can't recommend any filters in your price range as I haven't used any of them except the hitech pro 10 stop filter but that needs a filter holder at extra cost. At the price bracket you are using it's likely there will be a strong colour cast. It can be corrected with custom WB but I never got on well with it, converting to B&W is any easier way.
 
That's great Steve. However, I really don't know which one is the best??
I think no filter looks natural, XCSource looks bland, Camdiox looks warm, SRB looks pink and Haida looks vivid but too blue. What would you suggest?
 
jpgreenwood said:
That's great Steve. However, I really don't know which one is the best??
I think no filter looks natural, XCSource looks bland, Camdiox looks warm, SRB looks pink and Haida looks vivid but too blue. What would you suggest?
Click to expand...

My preference is the XCSource one, which I use most of the time. Also happens to be the cheapest at under £10, price dependent on diameter you need.
Here is their Amazon link (they also have an ebay store)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_nr_n_4?fst=as:eek:ff&rh=n:560798,n:!560800,n:560834,n:376337011,n:1104464,p_4:XCSOURCE,n:332181031&bbn=1104464&ie=UTF8&qid=1453047989&rnid=1104464

None of the shots in the comparison have had any processing, just converted from raw to jpg to show straight from camera results. They would all benefit from a bit of additional contrast adding. The light was far from ideal, but good enough to show the colour cast from each of them.
Cant repeat this as the Haida was used just this once before going back to amazon for a refund :)

Here is a better example of what it produces
[url=https://flic.kr/p/r3isHt]Seaward by Steve Bennett, on Flickr[/URL]
 
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